Another PH shoulder season fire...

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rideau

Minister of Fire
Jan 12, 2012
2,167
southern ontario
Arrived home Saturday night after a week away to gusty winds, moist air, outside temps of 52 and inside 62. Unpacked, ate, connected my computer, and checked e-mails and hearth.com. Read Waulie's post with interest, so decided to play around with the stove when I started my fire at 12:50 AM:
Outside temp lower than 52 (52 at 10PM)
Inside temp 62
Load: 12 pounds sugar maple splits into cold stove, air and bypass open
12:57 Maple has all caught, fire is starting to roar
12:57- 1:45 played around with air control and catalytic bypass for the fun of it
1:45 bypass is closed, air is cracked open, stove top is 250
6:30 (dawn) Stovetop 350
8:30 46 out, windy; 68 in, stovetop 300.
Lifted soapstone to expose cooktop, and cooked oatmeal and Red River cereals on two of the three elements, after opening the air to about 1/4
10:00 Soapstone is covering cooktop, stone is 300, air is totally closed
1PM Stovetop 200, red coals in firebox, room is still 68
1:45 Still lots of hot coals; opened bypass and air, added small 2 pound maple slit.Caught
in under 1 minute
2:00 Double wall flu pipe 150, closed bypass, completely closed air, gases flaming
6:10 Coals, stovetop 150, house 72

7:15 Add 1 dogwood log, bypass and air open
7:20 Roaring fir, air closed to 1/2
7:27 Stovetop 220, Stovepipe 170, closed bypass
7:35 Stovetop 260, pipe 170, 52 degrees out, very active gas flames
7:38 Stovetop 300, pipe 170
7:40 Stovetop 310, pipe140
8:46 Stovetop 310,pipe 150 70 degrees inside

5:30 AM Stovetop 170, pipe 100. open air and bypass, add 5 lbs maple splits
5:55 Stovetop 240, pipe 170, closed bypass, closed air to 1/2
6:10 air closed then cracked open
6:15 Stovetop 310, pipe 170, closed air supply totally
6:50 Stovetop 340, pipe 140...

and the story goes on.

My PH is heating my 3000 plus square foot home a good 20 degrees above pre-fire temps
using about twelve pounds of wood per 12 hour + burn. I'm very happy.
 
What was your previous stove and how much heat is the PH giving off at 200 degrees as compared to your previous stove?
 
explain what the weight of a load has to do with what your posting please
 
explain what the weight of a load has to do with what your posting please
It gives me an idea how much wood is being loaded into the stove. Terms like small, medium and large splits vary greatly. 12 lbs of sugar maple gives you a pretty good idea of how much was loaded into the stove.
 
that said, are there woodburners using scales to load their stoves? Or is it something you get used to over time?
 
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explain what the weight of a load has to do with what your posting please

I have given both weight of wood and splits so that both items are available for reference. When I reported this spring/summer the amount of wood in cords that I used to heat my home last winter, there were posters who did not believe me. I am on rock, very little topsoil, and my wood is very dense. A lot that I burn is ironwood....so, to be fair and compare apples to apples, I am giving species and weight in my posts, in case my wood is heavier than that of others. Heavier = more BTUs per same size split....I won't always remember to weigh the wood, but will try to when I intend to post. Of course, if I get an incredible burn time or some such thing and have not weighed the wood, I'll still post.

I plan to fully load this stove once it gets cold (something I have not yet done), engage the combuster, turn the air completely down, and see what burn time I get.

By the way, I have a great draft, and have not found my window to get clouded at all during these shoulder season burns.
 
that said, are there woodburners using scales to load their stoves? Or is it something you get used to over time?

I don't think you'll find many weighing wood unless they are experimenting. In the case of the Progress, it is a new stove and it is good to know what kind of temperatures they are reaching with the amount of wood in the stove. In this case rideau has done very well with his new stove. Now I sort of wish I'd have weighed my wood last week when I got the stove top over 700 with just a very small amount of wood. But I can tell you the Fireview is a great stove but will not hold heat as long as the Progress nor will it give as much heat. Still, it gives plenty for our situation.


Rideau, many thanks for posting that information. It is interesting to compare yours with what Waulie and others have been getting.
 
Rideau, we must have been typing at the same time but you beat me. ;lol
 
I don't think you'll find many weighing wood unless they are experimenting. In the case of the Progress, it is a new stove and it is good to know what kind of temperatures they are reaching with the amount of wood in the stove. In this case rideau has done very well with his new stove. Now I sort of wish I'd have weighed my wood last week when I got the stove top over 700 with just a very small amount of wood. But I can tell you the Fireview is a great stove but will not hold heat as long as the Progress nor will it give as much heat. Still, it gives plenty for our situation.


Rideau, many thanks for posting that information. It is interesting to compare yours with what Waulie and others have been getting.

Yes, the Fireview is a great stove. I was just asking it to heat too large an area. I can't part with mine. It is sitting in a place of honor in the family room, and if I ever get a garage/workshop/boatshed/cottage! built, it will be used to heat that....Right now it is just taking a well earned rest and being pretty...
 
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Well, it should still look pretty setting there in the family room. That is one thing I really like about it; when not in use it looks like a piece of fine furniture.
 
Rideau:

You and Waulie should both be commended on your excellent posts explaining exactly how you burn the Progress. The level of detail really helps. It appears from your numbers you really do have a great draft - something I hope to see myself this year after making some big changes.

I wish I could get mine going - it's been too dang warm in these parts!
 
Rideau:

You and Waulie should both be commended on your excellent posts explaining exactly how you burn the Progress. The level of detail really helps. It appears from your numbers you really do have a great draft - something I hope to see myself this year after making some big changes.

I wish I could get mine going - it's been too dang warm in these parts!

The Ph is such a great stove, I'm sure you'll see good feedback from it as a result of your improvements. If I can be of any help, feel free to ask. If you have any suggestions for me, feel more than free to give them. Suggestions are greatly appreciated. We're all learning. Best wishes for a great burning season!
 
Do you PH guys think the addition of the cook plate drops the stove top temps a bit? I wish there was also a good way to monitor cat temps on this stove.
 
I ran an inconel sheathed type k thermocouple through the upper rear bolt hole in the rear to an Omega setpoint controller so I could see the cat temps. It definitely helped last winter when the first cat started dying and would stall at abnormally low stove top temps. Now I'm just addicted to the control it allows.

I cannot decide if the cook top is slower to respond or not. It may be somewhat, but I don't feel, at this point, that it effects operation at all. We'll see if it becomes more noticeable as the temps drop and the draft improves.
 
Nice post, rideau. It looks like we're getting similiar results. It haven't been reloading my fires yet this season, just having one a night. I'd say I could easily reload after 8 hours on 10 pounds of ash. In general, 40 to 50% full will get me 12 hours. The part I want to play with when it gets cold is getting those full loads to 16+ hours. This will be more for interest than for my use. I like a 12 hour burn best for my schedule anyway.
 
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Do you PH guys think the addition of the cook plate drops the stove top temps a bit?

I thought it would take longer to warm the top up with the cooktop, but I haven't noticed that at all. Before the cooktop, there was a steel plate that went under the stone lid. That plate was much lighter than the cast iron cooktop but there doesn't seem to be a difference in warm up times. In terms of overall max temps, it's really hard to say so far.
 
explain what the weight of a load has to do with what your posting please
Weight and moisture content of the load would be the most accurate way to compare what was put in the stove, as the btu of content of a pound of wood is basically the same regardless of species on a dry matter basis.
 
7:27 Stovetop 220, Stovepipe 170, closed bypass
7:35 Stovetop 260, pipe 170, 52 degrees out, very active gas flames
7:38 Stovetop 300, pipe 170
7:40 Stovetop 310, pipe140
8:46 Stovetop 310,pipe 150
I'm sure some of it has to do with different setups, but wow, those are some low flue temps! Is that a surface thermo or a probe? Where is it located. I'd like to see some lower flue temps. My shoulder burn in the FV gave me 340 stove top, maybe 310 flue. Now, my surface thermo is lying on the horizontal stainless tee takeoff, about 5" behind the rear-vent flue collar...that may be reading higher than some setups. I've noticed that my SIL's Dutchwest is generally about 250 flue, about 12" up the vertical pipe. I'm guessing that those 170s and lower that you are seeing in the flue are due in part to the design of the PH with those heat-scavenging fins...
 
Question about operating the stove.

If, you have a small load going and you have the air turned down for a low burn, what happens, or would happen, if you added more wood while keeping the cat engaged and the air low?

I ask as I feel there must be a way to have a full load and still maintain a low burn with out the secondary burn kicking in like a non-cat stove.
 
If, you have a small load going and you have the air turned down for a low burn, what happens, or would happen, if you added more wood while keeping the cat engaged and the air low?

That's an interesting idea, BB. I'll give it a try when the weather cools down. You may run the risk of shocking the cat letting all that cool air in so quick. I suppose you could just disengage to load then re-engage right away after shutting the door. As long as you kept the draft low, it would probably accomplish the same thing.
 
That's an interesting idea, BB. I'll give it a try when the weather cools down. You may run the risk of shocking the cat letting all that cool air in so quick. I suppose you could just disengage to load then re-engage right away after shutting the door. As long as you kept the draft low, it would probably accomplish the same thing.

I'm not sure if you can shock the new SS cats. I think thermal shock is more of a problem with the ceramic cats.
 
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